Personal Story
get my days off. I didn’t have the opportunity to go to
school every day in Jamaica because sometimes I had to go
to the farm with my father. My father grew things like yams
and vegetables. On Fridays, we had to take a donkey to
collect the produce. On Saturdays, we took the produce to
the market to sell. I go to Tomlinson Adult Learning Center
to pursue my education because I want to get a better job. I
am studying for my G.E.D. at Tomlinson. My teacher gave
me a tutor to help with my reading. I improved my reading
a lot with the help of my tutor, hard work, and
determination. These things also helped me to achieve my
Nursing Assistant License. I am not stopping there. I am on
my way to getting my R.N. license. You can achieve
anything you want if you work hard.
Giselle Marshall is a student at Tomlinson Adult Learning Center.
Gregoria’s Life
I am 26 years old. I was born in the state of Hidaigo,
Mexico. My story is long and complicated. In 1998, at 13
years old I moved to Oklahoma City. I got married and had
two wonderful daughters. Later I found out that my
marriage was not legal. There were no papers signed or
notarized stating that I was married. In the year 2006, I
moved to Florida, a foreign place for me. I didn’t know how
to work. I had to work in a Mexican restaurant as a waitress.
I got annoyed, because my pay was only $2.50 an hour. It
was not enough money to pay my bills and support two
little girls, ages 12 and 11 years old.
Everyone asked me where my husband was. It was
difficult for me to say that we got divorced. It was my
husband who said really bad things to me. It hurt me when
he said those things, and it wasn’t easy to go along with
him. But everything worked out for the best. I had to get a
job working in a bar to support me and my children. This is
not the type of job I wanted but I had more money and was
able to support my little girls. If you haven’t guessed by
now, I am not a legal citizen in this country. My girls are
scared that one day we are going to get separated. But I am